Russia intensifies war games that have rattled West
Reuters, Moscow
President Vladimir Putin observed Russia’s biggest war games in years on Monday, watching as his forces successfully repelled an imaginary enemy and launched a tank-led counter offensive, part of an exercise that has rattled the West.
NATO officials say they are monitoring the “Zapad-2017” (“West-2017”) war games with “calm and confidence”, but many are unnerved about what they see as Moscow testing its ability to wage war against the West. Russia says the exercise is rehearsing a purely defensive scenario.
Afghan Air Force receives first Black Hawk copters
Reuters, Kabul
The Afghan Air Force took delivery of its first four U.S.-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters on Tuesday as part of a planned replacement of its aging fleet of Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters, officials said.
The U.S. plans to supply a total of 159 Black Hawks to Afghanistan in the coming years as it boosts the capacity of the AAF, considered one of the best-performing parts of the Afghan Defence and Security Forces.
Hurricane death toll rises to 50 in Florida
AFP, Miami
The toll from Hurricane Irma in the US state of Florida stood at 50 dead Monday as officials tallied up the victims of the mega-storm, which ripped through the state last week.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management put the official toll at 34, but it excluded eight known deaths in the Keys and eight more in a nursing home in Hollywood, north of Miami. Those deaths put the toll state-wide to 50.
French, Rwandan presidents hold rare meeting
AFP, Kigali
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has met with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in New York for rare talks, Kigali said Tuesday, as diplomatic ties remain icy over the 1994 genocide.
Kigali has long accused France of complicity in the genocide of some 800,000 mostly ethnic Tutsis, at the hands of Hutu extremists, angering Paris and straining relations.
The Rwandan presidency said in a statement on Twitter that Kagame and Macron on Monday discussed “collaboration on issues of mutual interest including peace (and) security in Africa”, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Taliban kill 3 abducted Afghan govt workers
AP, Kabul
An Afghan official says the Taliban have killed three government employees abducted last month in western Herat province.
Gelani Farhad, spokesman for the provincial governor in Herat, says the three included two employees from the customs department and their driver. He says they were abducted about 20 days ago and their bodies were found on Monday evening.
